[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 87 (Thursday, June 16, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S3894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WARNER:
  S. 1222. A bill to amend title 31, United States Code, to require 
accountability and transparency in Federal spending, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce an important new 
piece of legislation--the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, 
or DATA Act.
  Sine I have been in Washington, I have been frustrated by the lack of 
transparency and useful spending information to help inform the 
decision-making process. Our taxpayers deserve to clearly see how their 
tax dollars are spent.
  As Chairman of the Budget Committee's Task Force on Government 
Performance, I have been working to improve the outcomes and results of 
our Federal investments.
  Last year, we passed the Government Performance and Results 
Modernization Act to more frequently track government outcomes and to 
help reduce overlap and duplication. Today, I will introduce the DATA 
Act to help bring a new level of transparency to our Federal spending.
  I want to start by acknowledging the work of the administration and 
the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board--this legislation 
was built off the important work they have been leading to reduce waste 
for the Recovery Act investments.
  Under Vice President Biden's leadership, supported by the Recovery 
Board Chairman Earl Devaney--they have established a new standard for 
government accountability. The results are impressive.
  Out of more than 200,000 Recovery Act fund recipients--there are only 
7 recipients that have not filed their required financial reports.
  I also need to mention the leadership at the Office of Management and 
Budget--including director Jack Lew and our chief performance officer 
Jeff Zients. OMB led the charge with the Recovery Board to ensure the 
accountability of the Recovery Act funds and have made transparency an 
important goal government-wide.
  The administration, the Recovery Board and OMB have proved that 
government can respond to the demand for more transparency and 
accountability. Now we need to expand the Recovery Act model across the 
whole government. The DATA Act does just that.
  First, this legislation will require recipients of Federal funds and 
government agencies to report spending data into one transparent online 
portal. Much like they did for Recovery Act funds.
  This data will be analyzed and compared proactively in order to 
identify and prevent waste, fraud and abuse before it happens. There 
are tremendous opportunities to reduce improper payments by applying 
the Recovery Board's fraud prevention tactics to the entire Federal 
Government.
  This legislation will also create a new Board to oversee transparency 
efforts and set consistent standards for data across the entire Federal 
Government. Board membership will be comprised of a select group that 
will include senior OMB officials, agency Deputy Secretaries and 
Inspectors General.
  All this information will be made publicly available so the American 
people can track taxpayer funds more closely.
  This legislation will create a new structure that could help 
coordinate and reduce duplicative reporting requirements and burdens 
felt by many governments, nonprofits and businesses.
  Finally, this legislation is an example of how Washington should 
work. It builds off the work of the administration and the Recovery 
Board, the work of Chairman Darrell Issa in the House and now with the 
introduction of this legislation in the Senate. By working together in 
a bipartisan way, we will have the strongest proposal that is poised to 
change the way the government does business.
  I must thank Chairman Darrell Issa of California for his leadership 
on developing this legislation. He has been working tirelessly on 
improving transparency for years--even starting a House Caucus on 
Transparency to rally his colleagues on the subject.
  I am pleased to be his partner in offering this legislation.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate and with 
the administration to make refinements to this legislation and to move 
forward with this bill.
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